LeBron James candidly says blowouts have hurt stats

With the Miami Heat rolling to six consecutive easy victories, James has played less in the final moments. He candidly said the extra time on the bench has hurt his statistics.

"I'm getting tired of sitting down in the fourth quarter, personally," James said, jokingly. "It's messing up my averages."

The Heat have no worries about the double-digit wins affecting them when the games become tougher. Coach Erik Spoelstra said the team has continued to work on late-game situations to keep it fresh in the players' minds.

"We've been doing that now for over a year," Spoelstra said. "Any time we have an opportunity to work on precision, execution of our offense, even (Monday) in the walkthrough, we're preparing for fourth-quarter execution. In shootarounds, we try to cover two to three late-game situations. That process started last year."

The Heat's last close game was Jan. 29 against the Chicago Bulls. They defeated the Toronto Raptors by six, but the game was never in doubt.

"We haven't had one in a while, but we've had enough together," James said. We know what it takes to win down the stretch."

NOT READY FOR LINSANITY YET

The Heat's biggest test this week is Thursday against the New York Knicks, but they refuse to look past Tuesday's game against the Sacramento Kings.

The Knicks matchup will be the first time the Heat face point guard Jeremy Lin, who has become the league's overnight sensation. New York has won eight of nine games with Lin as the starter.

"We know who we play (Tuesday)," James said. "The next 48 hours are very important for us. We know we're playing a young, athletic Sacramento team."

LEBRON GRABS HONOR

James on Monday was named Eastern Conference player of the week. He led the Heat to a 4-0 record, averaging 27.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant won the Western Conference award. Both players are generally considered the front runner to win the league's regular-season MVP honor.

HASLEM WORKING TO FIND TOUCH

For Udonis Haslem, it felt like old times.

He made 5 of 11 shots in Sunday's 90-78 victory against the Orlando Magic. It was somewhat of a confidence booster for Haslem, who has struggled with his shot this season.

He is shooting a career-low 40 percent from the field.

"It did feel good to get a lot of shots," Haslem said. "It felt like the old days. I've shown that I can get in the rhythm. I knocked down four or five in a row. Regardless of whatever the situation is, I'm not going to be a guy that's going to come into the game and get a double-digit amount of shots."

Haslem said he is still struggling with not having a training camp and the shortened season. The schedule has provided little time to practice his shooting.

"It's just pace and rhythm. That's what basketball is," Haslem said. "It's nothing you can rush. Not having a lot of practice time, games every other day, that's all it is. If you look around the league, there are a lot of guys struggling."